The war god prince climbs the wall every night, and the princess is angry

This fanatical look made Li Shunquan's heart tremble, and some speculations unconsciously emerged in his mind.

Is it...

Just as he was secretly speculating, Xie Rong held the secret letter between his fingers and placed it over the candle flame, letting it burn out. Then he ordered: "Li Shunquan!"

Li Shunquan instantly came back to his senses, bowed respectfully and said, "Your servant is here!"

Xie Rong's eyes were filled with joy. "Summon Censor Li, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Counselor, and Minister of Rites... I have something to discuss with you."

Li Shunquan's eyebrows twitched when he heard the long list of names from Xie Rong's mouth.

These people are all the emperor's confidants and they truly and completely obey the emperor's orders.

At this critical moment, the Emperor summoned these gentlemen, could it be that...

Suddenly, Li Shunquan thought of the secret letter just now, and his whole body tensed up.

It seems to be just as he guessed.

Li Shunquan did not dare to delay any longer, and quickly agreed, turned around and went out to summon the ministers into the palace.

On this day, the emperor, who was "weak and overly worried", talked with his ministers in the Taiji Hall for more than half an hour.

As to what they discussed, no one knows.

All we know is that all the young eunuchs in the Taiji Hall were driven out, and as for Li Shunquan, the chief eunuch, he was guarding the door alone and not allowing anyone to approach.

In the next few days, the capital was calm.

Xie Rong used the excuse of being "too sad" to avoid attending court for a few days.

Prince Rui passed away, troops from the northern border were at the gates of the city, and the emperor was bedridden due to excessive grief. All these things piled up together, forcing all the government offices to close their doors and all the ministers to stay at home, and try not to go out if possible.

I was afraid that I would make some mistakes during this period, be an eyesore, or get into trouble.

Even those places of entertainment such as brothels and brothels have stopped singing and dancing these days and dare not show off their activities.

Finally, three days later, news came from the palace that the emperor's condition had improved a little and he would resume his morning court sessions.

However, when the ministers learned about it, they did not show any joy on their faces.

No one thought that the emperor would be able to get over the pain of losing his son in just a few days. What they were more worried about was that on the first day of court, if they angered the emperor in some way, they would lose their lives.

For a moment, everyone was trembling with fear and kept silent. The process of attending the morning court, which used to be the most normal, now became like going to the execution ground, and everyone was like attending a funeral.

Perhaps it was because he was too cautious, so when a court official went against the wind during the morning court session and advised the emperor to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible.

The ministers looked at those court officials with shock in their eyes, and all of them expressed one thing - are they crazy?

What is the situation now?

The emperor lost two sons in succession.

Prince An was not so bad, as he intended to kill his father and seize the throne, so he deserved to be put to death.

King Ke Rui was the emperor's most beloved son and had made outstanding military achievements. The emperor was deeply saddened by his early death.

When the decree to posthumously confer the title of Crown Prince was issued that day, everyone knew that the Emperor's preferred candidate for Crown Prince was Prince Rui, but Prince Rui died young.

Today is the first time that the morning court session has been resumed since the death of Prince Rui. Not only did they act carelessly, but they also persuaded the emperor to appoint a crown prince. Isn't this like stabbing the emperor in the heart with a knife?

Even if you want to appoint a crown prince, you should wait for some time before discussing it. Why are you so impatient to rub salt into the emperor's wounds and force him to appoint a crown prince? Do you think you have too long to live?

If you don't want to live, just find a cool place and hang yourself. Why involve them?

The ministers were slandering him in their hearts, but they did not dare to hesitate in taking action.

I don't know which minister started kneeling, but the rest of the ministers knelt one after another.

Xie Rong sat at the top, looking at the majority of court officials kneeling below. No matter what he thought in his heart, his face was full of grief and anger.

He said bitterly, "Appoint a crown prince! Appoint a crown prince! All you know is to appoint a crown prince!"

King Rui has just died, and I am heartbroken. Why are you so impatient? Do you think I am about to die too, so you want to choose another master?"

As soon as he said this, the other half of the court officials who were still standing in the hall knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness dare not!"

Xie Rong snorted coldly, "Don't dare? I think you dare very much, otherwise you wouldn't force me like this on my first court appearance today!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Counselor knelt a few steps forward and said, "Your Majesty, we are all concerned for the well-being of Dai Viet!"

"The undecided crown prince is the root of the country's troubles. Prince An's rebellion and Prince Rui's death were all due to the crown prince position."

"Your Majesty, you have five sons in total. Two of them are dead, leaving only three. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be another..."

"If this continues, won't the country be without successors? For the sake of Dai Viet, I implore the emperor to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the country!" The censor bowed and kowtowed.

The others followed suit and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, we implore you to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the country!"

Xie Rong was so angry that he almost laughed at the scene in front of him, "Okay, okay! So, you are all thinking about me, then tell me who should be appointed as the crown prince!"

As Xie Rong spoke, his sharp and majestic gaze swept over the crowd, carrying a strong sense of oppression.

The censor fell silent, and some ministers who followed the crowd also lowered their heads, not daring to look Xie Rong in the eye.

At this moment, the cabinet minister stood up, walked out of the crowd, knelt in the center of the hall, and bowed:

"His Royal Highness the First Prince is ill, and His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince is unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility. I believe that His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince, though young, has excellent character, is intelligent and eager to learn, and should be made the Crown Prince!"

When the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet said this, many court officials were stunned.

In the past, the choice of successor was mostly between Prince Rui and Prince An.

These two are highly valued by the emperor and have high status.

Once upon a time, Prince An was the son of a noble concubine. He was a humble man who treated people with respect and courtesy, and was quite famous among the students.

Prince Rui is even better. He is the legitimate son of the Empress. Although he has lost his biological mother, he is self-motivated and has military merits. His maternal family is powerful, and he was raised by the Emperor since childhood.

At most, the eldest prince, who is the eldest son, will be mentioned again.

But it was only mentioned briefly. After all, the eldest prince was ill, mediocre, and had average talent. It would be his turn only if there was no one else in the royal family.

As for the Fourth Prince, he was simply ignored.

He is just a drunkard who is addicted to women. If the fourth prince is really allowed to ascend the throne, Dai Viet will be on the verge of destruction.

Therefore, the most discussed are Prince An, Prince Rui and the eldest prince.

Now that two of the three have died, after the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet mentioned it, everyone suddenly realized that the fifth prince was already twelve years old and was not young anymore.

The fifth prince, whom they had ignored for many years, would be old enough to get married and attend court in a few years.

It’s not that they look down on the Fifth Prince, it’s just that there is too little information about him.

Although the maternal families of the other princes were not as powerful as the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, their mothers were also from official families, and there were also people in their families who served as officials in the court.

The fifth prince's mother was of humble origin, and for so many years, she had not even had anyone to speak up for her in the court.

In addition, the Fifth Prince was restricted from leaving the palace due to his young age, unlike other princes who had already set up residences outside the palace when they reached a certain age. Therefore, many people ignored the Fifth Prince.

Now that it was brought up by the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, some people subconsciously wanted to refute it, but suddenly they seemed to realize something and could not say the words even though they were on the tip of their tongue.

The current emperor has only three princes left. The eldest prince is ill, the fourth prince has been excessively dissolute and has already damaged his health. There is only one fifth prince left. Although he is of humble origin, he can still be of use.

At least compared to the previous two, the fifth prince is healthier.

The court officials were speechless, because it seemed that there was no other candidate except the fifth prince.

Unless the emperor can give birth to a new prince.

Xie Rong sat on the dragon throne with his eyes lowered, but his peripheral vision was always observing the reactions of the court officials below.

After a while, he slammed the jade ring in his hand to the ground and said angrily, "Do you have to force me so urgently? Yuan'er has just been buried!"

The Minister of Revenue stepped out, knelt, and said, "Your Majesty, please prioritize state affairs and appoint the Fifth Prince as Crown Prince to strengthen the foundation of the country."

"Your Majesty, please put state affairs first and appoint the fifth prince as the crown prince to strengthen the foundation of the country!" The ministers who had figured it out echoed one after another, and the combined voices echoed in the grand hall, deafening.

If the fifth prince is destined to be appointed as the crown prince, they certainly cannot go against it and must cling to the future emperor's thighs as early as possible.

Xie Rong's face looked grim. He closed his eyes, stood up suddenly, and left in a huff.

Li Shunquan was stunned when he saw this, and quickly shouted: "Dismiss the court!"

As Xie Rong walked out, the voice behind him continued to ask him to make a decision early.

Today's incident will surely spread throughout the capital in less than half an hour, and the fifth prince will soon become the best candidate for the throne.